Cassata - week 7 :)

This is so so simple and yet can look like a pretty impressive dessert - tips on making it look pretty at the end! Whip it up (pardon the pun!) the night before a party, freeze overnight and get out 1 hour before the party starts, voila, instant luxury creamy dessert! :)

OK, gather all your ingredients and line your 2lb loaf tin with foil so that it overlaps the sides (this is needed so that you can cover the whole dessert to freeze)...
Whip the creams, orange zest and 2 tbsp of the orange juice until it forms soft peaks...
Whisk in the hazelnuts (or almonds), cherries, sultanas and sugar...
...make sure it is well blended but not too whipped!
Dip your sponge fingers into the rest of the orange juice and line the bottom of the tin. (For some reason they seem to have changed the sponge fingers to these bar type cakes - if you can get the finger sponges go for those as they do look prettier in the long run!)
Pour your cream and fruit mix onto the sponges and level the top.
Dip the rest of your sponges (or enough to cover the top depending on size!) in orange juice and completely cover the top of your cream mix (you may need to pour more orange for dipping, mine seemed to soak up the juice like there was no tomorrow!)
Wrap and tuck the foil around the cake and freeze either overnight or at least 6 hours.
Take out of the freezer 1 hour before use and unwrap. Turn it out onto a plate and refrigerate for the hour to allow to chill slightly - no one wants ice crystals in their cake!
Slice and serve :)
As i said at the beginning, you can make this look so pretty if you want to spend the time and money on more fruit etc! Instead of lining the top with sponge fingers why not cover it entirely in fruit - search Cassata on google for a whole new world of ice cream gorgeousness!! :)

Hope you enjoy xxx